And now for something completely different...
So, in the past couple of years, I've become a fan of cycling. This is mostly the fault of some people on my flist (they know who they are) and at least it's not ice hockey and the resultant RPF that seems to generate, so that's a small comfort!
I'm not overly obsessive about it but it does mean that I get a little over-excited about what's going on particularly when the three main stage races - the Giro d'Italia (which usually takes place in May-June), the Tour de France (yes, the one people have usually heard of, which takes place in July) and the Vuelta a España (which is on at the moment, poor buggers) - are taking place. There are other stage races but these are the big ones and also the easiest to keep track of via the media as a result. Unfortunately, out of those 3 races we only seem to get reasonable coverage of the Tour on non-pay channels here and I'm restricted to highlights each evening for the Vuelta, which are still pretty good though.
These guys are seriously nuts. They'll ride a couple of hundred kilometres, climb a couple of mountains in the process and then get up the next day and do it all over again. But what I really like about it is that it's a strategic thing and a team thing, not just one star athlete who's out to prove they're better than everyone else - sure, each team has the big names as well, but they can't possibly win the overall race without the support of the rest of the riders.
To date, I'd been pretty much non-aligned in terms of a team. I've found myself applauding good riding on the part of pretty much any team rather than having a preference, though I was pleased to see how well Chris Froome did in the Tour. His team did everything right, everyone worked their respective arses off, and they got the result they wanted.
And then the Vuelta came along and so much for me being non-aligned any more! :P
Yep, I'm now very much supporting one particular team, in this case it's Orica GreenEdge, who are (mostly) Australian. It all started when one of their riders, Esteban Chaves, won Stage 2 and they had to literally stitch him into the stage winner's red jersey the next day because it was much too big for him. My liking for them as a team is also helped immensely by the fact that they regularly post behind the scenes videos which give a real insight into what's going on not just on the road during races but also before and after each stage. As I write, Chaves is still race leader but we're a long way from the final stage so I'll be hoping he can manage to keep that lead.
Also posted at my Dreamwidth account - happy to receive comments on either post.
I'm not overly obsessive about it but it does mean that I get a little over-excited about what's going on particularly when the three main stage races - the Giro d'Italia (which usually takes place in May-June), the Tour de France (yes, the one people have usually heard of, which takes place in July) and the Vuelta a España (which is on at the moment, poor buggers) - are taking place. There are other stage races but these are the big ones and also the easiest to keep track of via the media as a result. Unfortunately, out of those 3 races we only seem to get reasonable coverage of the Tour on non-pay channels here and I'm restricted to highlights each evening for the Vuelta, which are still pretty good though.
These guys are seriously nuts. They'll ride a couple of hundred kilometres, climb a couple of mountains in the process and then get up the next day and do it all over again. But what I really like about it is that it's a strategic thing and a team thing, not just one star athlete who's out to prove they're better than everyone else - sure, each team has the big names as well, but they can't possibly win the overall race without the support of the rest of the riders.
To date, I'd been pretty much non-aligned in terms of a team. I've found myself applauding good riding on the part of pretty much any team rather than having a preference, though I was pleased to see how well Chris Froome did in the Tour. His team did everything right, everyone worked their respective arses off, and they got the result they wanted.
And then the Vuelta came along and so much for me being non-aligned any more! :P
Yep, I'm now very much supporting one particular team, in this case it's Orica GreenEdge, who are (mostly) Australian. It all started when one of their riders, Esteban Chaves, won Stage 2 and they had to literally stitch him into the stage winner's red jersey the next day because it was much too big for him. My liking for them as a team is also helped immensely by the fact that they regularly post behind the scenes videos which give a real insight into what's going on not just on the road during races but also before and after each stage. As I write, Chaves is still race leader but we're a long way from the final stage so I'll be hoping he can manage to keep that lead.
Also posted at my Dreamwidth account - happy to receive comments on either post.